Any flatbed o/ops

Not saying this is your goal, but if it is, a cool head is what's going to separate you from the pack:

Got a load offer picking up a sprayer in Darlington,Wi going to Viking,Mn. 10 ft wide. Cool. Easy enough. Picked up our only RGN in Gary,In and shot out to Darlington. Was supposed to load on Wednesday, but the farmer said to come on in. I get there 1700 on a Tuesday. He brings out the granddaddy of all sprayers. Thankfully, my trailer had those aluminum slide out outriggers. I started pulling out the outriggers and suddenly realized that the trailer got butchered in Mexico. They didn't check it in the shop, but neither did I.
Now if I called night dispatch and ask them what to do, they wouldn't be able to help me and I would have to wait til in the morning.

Well, I did call night dispatch, but I asked them about a location 160 miles away where we drop RGN to load. Night dispatch told me that he was showing 5 RGNs there. I apologized to the farmer and told him that I would be back in the am with another trailer. 320 miles later, I'm back with another trailer. This time I made sure to check the outriggers. We loaded this thing, with the outriggers slid all the way out, the tyres were still hanging over. It was easily over 14 wide and 15 tall ( on the trailer).

I called the company and told them the dims. NOW let's talk about money. This thing is 4 ft wider and two ft taller than what was quoted me. We came to an agreement, and I was still able to deliver on time.

"But what about that 320 miles?"

That was my fault.i wouldn't have needed outriggers for a 10 ft sprayer, but I should have checked them anyway. Yes, I could have probably sat there and waited until the morning trying to get them to cover the 320, and they probably would have, but time is more important than money.

needless to say, now I am more careful. If a trailer stretches, part of my pre trip is stretching the trailer. I inspect the pullout outriggers. Pins. Shims. Whatever.

 

See, that's just the thing...even if you had 27/7 access to a desk jockey, there are still going to be instances where a weekend or after hours pickup is going to hit a snag. I prefer to live load everything. Why? Because if there are any issues with the load or the trailer, or anything, YOURE STUCK with it.

I bet bet that every driver here has a story about a weekend run that went to hell. It's part of the business. Doesn't matter if you're company, lease, owner OP....in our end of the industry, you are going to have the weekend run that goes to crap. Doesn't matter what company you go to.

 

Sometimes in this industry it seems drivers are the only ones who work weekends. Yep,it's a PITA and I'd be as pissed as you are but sometimes you just gotta suck it up. If they treat you decent overall, you have to carry on. If this is one in a series of screw-ups, time to start looking. Just my .02C

 

Surely I am not the only one that has been given a pu# only to find out when I get there that it is the wrong one, wait until the next day to get a new load because the time it took to get the right pu# caused the load to be given to someone else? Surely I am not the only one to arrive at the shipper to find out that the load has been taken already? I know I am not the only one, now, that has arrived at a gate and could not get a code until the next day, or following Monday. It happens, and yes, your right, the company should not make mistakes like this but, remember, the people doing the dispatching are just hired hands. I agree with others, if all in all, the company is ok and your making good money as a L/P driver, being dispatched, than stay. If not, find another carrier. Wish you the best...

 

I probably show more patience in a week, than you do in a month. It's part of the job, either get used to it or get a new career started now.
You are a flease operator bud, hate to break it to you like that, but it's the truth. How anyone can lease a truck of the folks they drive for, and call themselves an owner operator and whine when it goes wrong, is beyond me.
YOU drove up there, and under 100 miles at that, and decided to leave because the gate was locked. Really? Sunday night and you ran home? And now you are whining about being put on the back burner for a week? Big deal.
What would you do if you had to wait a whole day, during the week, to be loaded? I haul oversize stuff, as do a lot of folks in here. We deal with permits, weather, shippers and receivers, that can and do cause delays. Difference is, we do it with a smile, act professional, and get asked to come back by everyone involved. We also get paid for the down time if we are lucky. What we DO NOT do is run home to Mommy and cry about it on the internet.
Sorry bud, you get no sympathy from me. I can't count the number of times, in the past 2 months alone, where I have waited to be loaded or unloaded. It's part of the game in my book. At some places, I am happy if I get loaded on the right day. Secret is, to be there the whole time IF you want to be paid for it. Running home gets you nothing.
Now flame on....been doing this too long to be bothered by it.

Martin

 

Okay, I give up.

Yeah! Work on those options. Throw some applications in there. Get another job! Go somewhere where you're a person and not a number and where they respect you. You deserve better. They owe you!

Someone cue cue the Twisted Sister cuz we're not gonna take it anymore!

 

Honestly, yes I would have waited until someone turned up. Have done it far too many times to stop now.
After 23yrs, I am getting a fair idea of what needs to be done to stand out from the crowd. Patience and professionalism are two areas that can be exploited, as there is far too little of it going around anymore. And the thing is, these two areas that can make you stand out in a customers eyes, are for the most part, FREE! No new truck needed, no $5,000 chrome bill, no uniforms, no nothing, except a good attitude.
By all means though, stay in denial. If your company lost that load to another company that has drivers with patience and professionalism, dont count on having that wonderful job too much longer, as your company will be losing customers on a regular basis. Competition is just too thick these days, to have the attitude of the idiot on Shipping Wars who is always whining and being disrespectful to customers.
Give me the customers number, I'm sure I could offer more service than they currently receive.

Please dont think I am just putting you down etc. This industry is cut throat, and the ONLY way to get good rates and loyal customers, is to do just the opposite of what you did. The sooner you learn that, the more successful YOU will be.

Martin